"One Stop Shop" For Irish Charities Seeking Funding
Friday 4th July 2008, Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, John Curran TD, today launched www.fundingpoint.ie, a new website, which aims to provide Irish charities with an efficient and cost effective way to diversify their funding.
Fundingpoint.ie is a unique service providing comprehensive information about hundreds of funding schemes currently available to Irish charities, including EU funds, independent trusts and corporate and central and local government grants. Developed by The Wheel, a non-profit support and representative body for Irish community, voluntary and charitable organisations, Fundingpoint.ie employs intuitive web technology to enable users to search for grants that best suit their organisations’ funding needs, thereby saving valuable time and human resources.
Subscribers to Fundingpoint.ie will be able to track funding schemes, access a funding diary and add their own comments and feedback to schemes and news stories. The website also incorporates a unique fundraising guidance ‘knowledgebase’ containing a wealth of articles covering every aspect of the fundraising process.
The Irish community and voluntary sector currently receives up to 60% of its funding from Government, compared to 40% in the United Kingdom. A recent survey revealed that 19% percent of the sector’s income is generated through donations, bequests and fundraising and the remainder through earned income and other sources.
"It is essential for non-profit organisations to explore all potential funding sources in the current economic climate," said Deirdre Garvey, The Wheel’s Chief Executive Officer. “Fundingpoint.ie provides the most user-friendly way for Irish community and voluntary organisations to investigate new funding opportunities. Furthermore, it is also a valuable service to grant-makers, who wish to present their funding-schemes to a wider group of potential beneficiaries.
The project is funded by the Vodafone Ireland Foundation, which also today announced its 2008-2009 grant programme:
Speaking at the launch, Jan Mottram, Chairperson of the Vodafone Ireland Foundation said "We are honoured to be partnering with the Wheel to deliver such an innovative resource for organisations in search of funding. Fundingpoint.ie intends to change the funding landscape in Ireland by greatly improving access and awareness of funding to the community and voluntary sector as well as Donor organisations”.
“Similarly, we at the Vodafone Ireland Foundation focus on offering funding solutions to a range of charities. We are delighted to avail of this opportunity to announce that our 2008-2009 Vodafone Ireland Foundation Grant programme is now open for applications and we look forward to another year of making a difference."
Note to Editor:
The CEO of The Wheel, Deirdre Garvey, is now available for interview. Please contact Gert Ackermann on 086 176 9287 or e-mail gert@wheel.ie to arrange.
For details on Vodafone Ireland Foundation or the 2008-2009 Grant Programme, contact Kate O’Herlihy, Vodafone Ireland Foundation Officer, on 087 9495667 or email kate.oherlihy@vodafone.com.
About The Wheel
The Wheel is a leading support and representative body for the community and voluntary sector in Ireland. For more information visit www.wheel.ie.
About Vodafone Ireland Foundation
Vodafone Ireland Foundation (VIF) was established in 2003 and is the first Foundation of its kind in Ireland. It is among 24 Vodafone Foundations around the world. Further info can be located at www.vodafonefoundation.org.